1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for dynamic line balancing of high-voltage (HV) transmission lines using spatially distributed active impedance-injection modules that are connected directly in series with the HV transmission lines that form HV electric power grids.
2. Prior Art
HV electric power grids typically operate at voltages that are on the order of about 50 kV up to about 600 kV. One of the requirements of these HV power grids is the need for dynamic distributed active power-flow control capability that can inject both inductive and capacitive impedance on to the HV transmission line as required to achieve line balancing and phase angle correction. A system that can react fast to the problems of power flow over the grid, will greatly improve the grid operation and power-transfer efficiency.
Congested networks limit system reliability and increase the cost of power delivery by having part of the power dissipated in unbalanced circuits causing loop currents with associated power loss. In addition, substantially out-of-phase voltages and currents on the transmission lines reduce the capacity of the lines to transfer real power from the generator to the distribution substation. To remove this limitation, it is desired to have HV power grids with transmission lines that are balanced, with power transfer shared substantially per optimization methods, with reasonable power factor, and controllable phase difference between voltage and currents. These improvements reduce the loop currents and associated losses and enable real power transfer over the grid up to the capacity of the lines.
Most of the grid control capabilities today are ground based and installed at substations with switchable inductive and capacitive loads. These installations require high-voltage insulation and high-current switching capabilities. Being at the substations these can use methods of cooling that include oil cooling, forced recirculation of coolant, and other options without consideration of the weight and size of the units. These lumped controls require a centralized data collection and control facility to coordinate operation across the grid and hence have associated delays in implementing the control function on the power grid.
Distributed and active control of transmission line impedance, if effectively implemented with high reliability, improves the system efficiency substantially, but requires cost-effective implementations that can alter the impedance of the HV transmission lines, with fast identification and fast response to line balance issues, by changing the phase angle of the current-voltage relationship applied across the line, thus controlling power flow.
At present proven effective and reliable solutions for distributed control of the power grid as, for example, described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,835,128 to Divan et al (the '128 patent) are limited. FIG. 1 shows a representation of the present-day distributed line balancing system 102 using a “distributed series reactor (DSR)” 100 using a passive impedance-injection module.
Power is transmitted from the electric power source or generator 104 to the load or distribution substation 106. Spatially distributed passive inductive impedance-injection modules (or DSR 100) are directly attached to the power conductor on the HV transmission line 108, and hence form the primary winding of the DSR 100 with a secondary winding having a bypass switch that, when open, inject an inductive impedance on to the line for distributed control. These DSR 100s only provide a limited amount of control by injecting only the inductive impedance on to the line. When the secondary winding is shorted by the bypass switch, the DSR 100 is in a protection mode and injects substantially zero impedance on to the HV line.
FIGS. 2 and 2A and 2B show embodiments of a passive impedance-injection module DSR 100. The HV transmission line 108 is incorporated into the module as the primary winding by adding two (or more) split-core sections 132, that are assembled around the HV transmission line 108. The core sections 132 are attached to the HV transmission line 108 with an air gap 138 separating the sections after assembly. The air gap 138 is used to set a maximum value of fixed inductive impedance that is to be injected on the HV line via the primary winding. Secondary winding 134 and 136 encircles the two split-core sections 132 and enabled the bypass switch 122 to short out the secondary winding and prevent injection of inductive impedance on to the a HV transmission line 108 and also provide protection to the secondary circuits when power surges occur on the HV transmission line. The split core sections 132 and the winding 134 and 136 comprise the single-turn transformer (STT) 120. A power supply module 128 derives power from the secondary windings 134&136 of the STT 120 via a series connected transformer 126. The power supply 128 provides power to a controller 130. The controller 130 monitors the line current via the secondary current of the STT 120, and turns the bypass switch 122 off when the line current reaches and exceeds a predetermined level. With the contact switch 122 open, a thyristor 124 may be used to control the injected inductive impedance to a value up to the maximum set by the air gap 138 of DSR 100.
When using multiple DSRs 100 connected on the HV transmission line as in FIG. 1, the inductive impedance injected by all the DSRs 100 on the line segments provides the total control impedance. The main reason for the choice and use of inductive impedance injection unit DSR 100 is its simplicity, inexpensiveness, and reliability as it does not need active electronic circuits to generate the needed inductive impedance. The value of the inductive impedance of each DSR 100 is provided by the air-gap setting of the transformer core and not electronically generated, and hence has fewer failure modes than if the same was implemented using electronic circuits. The difficulty in implementing and using electronic circuits for impedance injection units that can produce an actively controllable high impedance for injection comprising both inductive and capacitive impedance is multi fold. It includes achieving the long-term reliability demanded by electric utilities while generating the voltage and current levels that are needed to achieve effective active control of the lines in the secondary circuit while remaining within reasonable cost limits for the module.
Distributed active impedance-injection modules on high voltage transmission lines have been proposed in the past. U.S. Pat. No. 7,105,952 of Divan et al. licensed to the applicant entity is an example of such. FIG. 3 shows an exemplary schematic of an active distributed impedance-injection module 300. These modules 300 are expected to be installed in the same location on the HV power line as the passive impedance-injection modules (or “DSR” 100) shown FIG. 1. The active impedance-injection module 300 does not perform the same functions. In fact the active impedance-injection module 300 does not have a gapped core 132 of FIG. 2B that provides the fixed inductive impedance. Instead the inductive or capacitive impedance is generated using the converter 305 based on the sensed HV transmission line 108 current. The sensing of the magnitude of the line current is done by sampling the secondary current by the series-connected secondary transformer 302. The sensing and power supply block 303 connected to the secondary transformer 302 extracts the HV transmission line current information and feeds the controller 306. The controller based on the received input provides the necessary commands to the converter 305 to generate the required inductive or capacitive impedance to adjust the line impedance. The value of the impedance in this case is not fixed but varies according to the status of the measured current on the HV transmission line. Hence the system using spatially distributed active impedance-injection modules 300 provides for a much smoother and efficient method for balancing the grid.
In practice the active impedance-injection modules 300s have not been practical due to reasons of cost and reliability. In order to inject the needed impedances on to the HV transmission line for providing reasonable line balancing there is a need to generate a significant amount of power in the converter circuits. This has required the active impedance-injection modules 300 to use specialized devices with adequate voltages and currents ratings.
The failure of a module in a spatially distributed inductive impedance injection line balancing system using DSR 100 modules inserts a fixed inductive impedance set by the “air gap” 138 or substantially zero impedance on to the line. Failure of a few modules out of a large number distributed over the HV transmission line does not mandate the immediate shutdown of the line. The repairs or replacement of the failed modules can be undertaken at a time when the line can be brought down with minimum impact on the power flow on the grid. For utilities to implement distributed active line balancing, the individual modules must be extremely reliable. They also have to be cost effective to be accepted by the Utilities.
Power transmission line balancing circuits have been limited to the use of delayed-acting heavy-duty fully-insulated oil-cooled inductive and capacitive impedance injectors or phase-shifting transformers prone to single-point failures, located at substations where repairs of these failed units can be handled without major impact on power transfer over the grid.
As described above the use the specialized devices that can handle the needed power with high reliability demanded by the utilities at a reasonable cost has not been possible so far. There is a need for such a capability for converting the grid to a more efficient and intelligent system for power distribution. If it can be established, it will have a major impact on the efficiency and capabilities of the grid.